Michigan

Sammantha Nyberg hula hoops Friday, August 17, 2012 during the first day of the City Lights Music Festival at Calder Plaza in Grand Rapids Mich. The electronic music festival expanded this year, running Friday and Saturday, with two stages. (Sally Finneran | MLive)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Even though City Lights Music Festival features a broad range of local, regional, national and international artists, it is distinctly a Grand Rapids event.

“We’re building the brand of Grand Rapids along with the festival,” said Tim Sinen, one of the team of coordinators organizing the two-day event.

“We’re trying to make this festival unique. Electric Forest is in the middle of nowhere. Spring Awakening is at Soldier Field (in Chicago). Ours is in the heart of G.R., in the shadow of the Calder, one of the city’s iconic symbols. It’s about the city, too.”

Now in its fifth year, City Lights will host 37 DJs and electronic dance music (EDM) artists, on three stages. Performers include England’s Krafty Kuts, Chicago’s Kalendr and Milk ‘n’ Cookies, Miami’s George Acosta and Grand Rapids’ Superdre. It began in 2009 as a free one-day festival at Rosa Parks Circle organized by Grand Rapids event planner Rob Bliss, and became a two-day, paid-admission event in 2012. Past artists include Darude, DJ Icey, Mixin’ Mike and Anthony Attalla.

Although the 2012 festival featured more than 50 artists, Sinen said it wasn’t a conscious decision to schedule less acts, and that lineups were curated intuitively. Organizers worked with a team of DJs to give each stage a different vibe, blend different styles and create a musical ebb-and-flow that slowly builds throughout the day to a crescendo.

“The artists on the main stages start soft, get harder and harder, and by nighttime, you’ll be hearing some really heavy beats,” he said.

Organizers also promise the biggest production the event has yet to offer.

“We’re really upping the production value this year,” Sinen said. “Stage two will have a huge, curved, high-definition LED panel. We want to give people the best show we can, and not charge the high prices (of other festivals).”

Students from Kendall College of Art and Design will display their work at the festival or participate in live art, and stilt-walkers, fire-breathers and other members of Daredevil Circus will perform on the grounds.

An addition to this year’s festival is a free all-ages performance from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, with a DJ dressed as a fairy princess, face painting, tye-dye booth and free samples from local frozen-yogurt provider Spoonlickers. Attendees ages 15 and younger will be able to attend with an adult.

“We wanted to expand the event to all ages,” Sinen said. “There are a lot of younger people who want to attend, but we can’t allow anyone under 16 due to liability issues. And this way, parents can get their kids to come out and hear the music.”

The grounds will be cleared for the 3:30 p.m. kickoff of the main festival, which is open to ages 16 and older. Alcohol will be served only in the VIP section, which is for ages 21 and older. Attendees may leave and re-enter the festival grounds, which will allow patrons to support restaurants and other businesses downtown, Sinen said.